Day 16 - Stephanie

Sitting at a campfire in a campground called Beverly Beach State Park with my honey.  We only logged 195 miles today but we made it to the Pacific Coast baby!  We were going to travel more on down the 101 Pacific Coast Highway but met a very nice lady from Portland, OR at an overlook watching whales and Harbor Seals, and she told us about this spot, which was only 3 miles from where we were.  It came with great recommendations (and it is a great spot!) so it was either travel another 3 hours +  and hope to get a campsite at another place we had looked up, or stay here.  Stay here!  GREAT decision.  The beach is 1/8 mile walk from the campgrounds and the people here are wonderful.  Plus, we have 2 huge Huckleberry bushes on our site and fresh fruit is there for the picking, literally.  Kevin even picked some and ate them - and that's saying something.

The Park Rangers here are super nice and I don't know if they really know what to think of us.  And for not the first time we're heard "How did you get all that stuff on 2 motorcycles?!?"   What can I say, we're talented. 

Anyway, for future Oregon 101 Highway travelers, don't eat at Moe's.  Service was horrible and we both ended up with tummy aches.  But nothing a glass of wine and an IPA can't cure. 

En route to the  Pacific Coast Highway, we saw an Evergreen Boeing 747 sitting in a field with grapes, and then another 747 sitting on top of a building surrounded by grapes.  We just had to stop in and see what that was all about "and to my surprise, out the of the clear blue skies, the telephone rings.  Oh no (drum lick)!"  Oh, sorry, I regress, REO song - '157 Riverside Avenue'.....Anyway, back to the 747 on the building.  It had been turned into a water-slide!  There were water shoots coming out of the fuselage  (and I have to let you know that I was corrected - I had tailpipes originally and was told, while laughing, there were no tailpipes on a jet - silly me).  LOL. 

While at the lookout that Kevin found and re-routed us to, we met the lady that told us about this place and also got to see the blows from several whales.  My pics were horrible as the whales were way out to sea, but I have proof that we did see them.  Also have proof that we saw Harbor Seals, which were also a great distance down below us.  The nice lady from Portland also told us where to go to see Sea Lions and listen to them yelling at each other.  If I remember, I'll get a video of that.

Camping next to us is another nice couple from Portland (third set of people for Portland that say they are escaping), and they told us about the "not-so-touristy" part of the Redwoods, along with another campground that is wonderful, which they will also be at tomorrow.   This couple also informed us the name of the "terrorist" squirrels that have been following us from Mt. Rushmore - Chickaree Squirrels (also known as the Douglas Squirrel).  They also advised us these squirrels will throw things at you, not the first time we're heard, or experienced that! 

Not too many pic ops today - but here are a few (and I apologize for the horrible quality of the whales and seals - just too far away).

OH!  I want to give special thanks to my brother Jeremy Lawrence, "JP", for the leather man's tool he gave me YEARS ago - I've used it more on this trip than I have in the past 15+ years having it - thanks JP - Love you!

California Gull

747 water slide

Gray Whale

Harbor Seals

My photographing honey